Beaded container with lift tab cover



March 1968 J. A. FOSTER 3,371,812

BEADED CONTAINER WITH LIFT TAB COVER Filed Dec. 14. 1966 5 Sheets-Sheetl NYE IOTOK dam cflj Jt rv Unfaa, w go TTO WED f March 5, 1968 J. A.FOSTER 3,371,812

BEADED CONTAINER WITH LIFT TAB COVER Filed Dec. 14, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet2 JQTTO IQNJEY/ March 5, 1968 J. A. FOSTER 3,371,812

BEADED CONTAINER WITH LIFT TAB COVER Filed Dec. 14, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet5 Q/ahn (A r oifti? a (a 7 W dd 5% oh-rcmsyf United States Patent3,371,812 BEADED CONTAINER WITH LIFT TAB COVER John A. Foster, Rockford,Ill., assignor to J. L. Clark Manufacturing (30., Rockford, Ill., acorporation of Illinois Filed Dec. 14, 1966, Ser. No. 601,784

Claims. (Cl. 215-39) This invention relate to a container having atubular body formed with an annular lip bead and closed by a coverhaving a depending skirt crimped around and hooked under the bead. Theskirt is formed with upright score lines on opposite sides of a flexibletab which may be pulled outwardly and upwardly to tear the skirt alongthe lines and facilitate removal of the cover.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a container ofthe foregoing character with a relatively simple and inexpensive coverwhich effectively seals and reseals the container and, at the same timeis more easily removable by anupward pull applied manually to the tabthan prior covers of the same general type.

A more detailed object is to provide a covered container of the 'abovetype in which substantial arcuate lengths of the cover skirt disposed onopposite sides of the tab are shortened and hooked only partially aroundthe bead and coact with the score lines to provide for easy and reliableremoval of the cover When the tab is pulled upwardly while the remainderof the skirt is hooked fully around the bead and coacts with the tab ina novel manner to maintain the initial seal and to provide for effectivereclosure in spite of such easy removability of the cover.

The invention also resides in the novel placement of the score linesbetween the tab and the ends of the partially hooked arcs of the skirtto induce bending of a substantial segment of the cover upwardly andaway from the bead in response to an upward and outward pull appliedmanually to the tab.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent fromthe following detailed description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in which FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of acontainer and cover embodying the novel features of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevation of the cover and thecontainer.

FIG. 2a is a fragmentary side elevation of the cover as initially formedand before being crimped on the jar, parts of the cover being brokenaway and shown in section.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of th cover and thecontainer.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-section taken substantiallyalong the line 4--4 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-section taken substantiallyalong the line 55 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-section taken substantiallyalong the line 6--6 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-section taken substantiallyalong the line 7-7 of FIG. 3.

FIGS. 8, 9, 10 and 11 are views similar to FIG. 5 and illustrating themanner of removing the cover, parts of the cover and the container beingbroken away and shown in section for purposes of clarity.

FIG. 12 is an enlarged view of parts shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the cover after it has been removed.

FIG. 14 is a plan view of the cover after it has been removed.

As shown in the drawings for purposes of illustration,

the invention is embodied in a removable cover 10 for hermeticallysealing a container 11 which may be a rigid glass jar having a tubularbody 13 formed at its upper end with an open mouth defined by a lip 14.Surrounding the lip is a downwardly rounded and out-turned annular head15 around which a continuous skirt 16 (FIG. 2) depending from the fullperiphery of the cover is deformed from its initial cylindrical formshown in FIG. 2a and crimped inwardly and hooked around the bead to sealthe cover tightly against the container lip. Integral with andprojecting downwardly from the lower edge of the skirt around a shortare thereof is a tab 17 adapted to be gripped manually and pulledoutwardly and upwardly as illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8 to tear the skirtalong upright score lines 19 formed in the skirt to facilitate re movalof the cover from the container.

Herein, the cover 10 is made of relatively thin and flexible materialsuch as ten gauge sheet aluminum and is formed with a substantially fiattop panel 20 bordered by an upwardly offset peripheral rim 21 definingan internal annular wall 23 (FIG. 6). The latter coacts with the skirt16 to form a downwardly opening groove receiving a yieldable ring ofsealing compound 24 which is compressed between the rim and thecontainer lip 14 as an incident to crimping the skirt around the bead 15thereby to establish an air-tight seal between the cover and the jar 11.The sealing compound may be a plastisol such as sold by the BradleyVrooman Company. Since jars of this type usually are filled with food orother product maintained under vacuum, a raised button 25 is formed atthe central portion of top panel 20 to indicate the presence or absenceof vacuum in the jar as finally processed. The button is held in adepressed position (FIG. 5) as long as vacuum is present in the jar andthen pops upwardly (FIG. 9) as the seal is broken to produce an audiblesound indicating that vacuum was present prior to removal of the cover.

In accordance with the present invention, substantial arcuate lengths ofthe skirt 16 are shortened and arranged to interlock or hook onlypartially around the bead 15 and coact in a novel manner with the scorelines 19 to provide for easy release of the cover 10 by manual liftingof the tab 17 while the remainder of the skirt coacts with the tab toprovide full interlocking with or hooking around the bead to hold theinitial sealing pressure and also to permit effectual rescaling bypressing the cover back onto the jar 11. To these ends, the cylindricalskirt on the cover as initially formed and shown in FIG. 2a is dividedcircumferentially into four arcuate lengths, namely, a deep section 27which is adapted for full interlocking with the bead, and which extendsaround about half of the periphery of the top 20, two similarintermediate sections 28 of lesser depth and length between the tab andthe ends of the deep section, and a deep section 29 integral with andincluding the arc of the tab 17 and adapted, like the section 27, tohook around the full depth of the bead at the edge of the cover oppositethe center of the section 27.

In this instance, the deep skirt section 27 extends slightly more thanhalf way around the outer periphery of the rim 21 (as indicated by theare a in FIG. 14) and is crimped outwardly, downwardly and then inwardlyaround the downwardly rounded outer surface of the bead 15. As shownmost clearly in FIG. 6, the lower free edge portion 31 of the deep skirt27 is hooked fully around the lower portion of the bead and extendssubstantially across the full width of a downward and axially facingshoulder 32 formed by the lower edge portion of the bead adjacent thejunction with the body 13 of the jar 11. With the deep skirt 27 hookedfully around the bead and with the upwardly facing surface of the freeedge portion 31 hugging the downwardly facing ice shoulder 32 in thismanner, the deep skirt is locked securely on the bead to hold thesegment of the cover encircled by the arc a tightly on the jar. Suchsecure interlocking between the deep skirt 27 and the bead may beachieved by a conventional seaming operation in which rolls (not shown)are employed to bend the initially cylindrical skirt around the bead andcrimp the free edge portion 31 inwardly across the shoulder 32. Duringthe seaming, the cover is pressed downwardly against the lip 14 thuscompressing the sealing compound 24 so as to leave a tight hermetic sealafter deformation and contraction of the skirt.

While the deep skirt section 27 is hooked fully around the bead 15, theintermediate and shallower skirt sections 28 are hooked only partiallyacross the shoulder 32 of the bead so that the cover 10 may be releasedeasily from the jar 11 by an upward pull exerted on the tab 17. As shownmost clearly in FIGS. 8 to 11, each shallow skirt section 28 is joinedintegrally at one end 35 to the adjacent end of the deep skirt 27 andextends circumferentially around the rim 21 through an arc b (FIG. 14)of slightly less than seventy-five degrees. The shallow sections arerolled and crimped around the bead in the same manner as the deep skirt27 in the seaming operation but the free edge portions 36 (FIG. 7)thereof extend downwardly just beyond the major diameter 37 of the beadand then inwardly and only partially across the shoulder 32 with theresult that the free edge portions 36 of the shallow skirt sections 28are offset upwardly from and spaced about of an inch above the plane ofthe free edge portion 31 of the deep skirt 27. Accordingly, theintermediate sections 28 are hooked sufi'iciently far around the head 15to maintain the sealing pressure between the jar lip 14 and the coverrim 21 around the full circumferential lengths of these sections and yetare easily releasable from the bead upon expanding radially andoutwardly through a short distance to enable the free edge portions 31to slip upwardly past the major diameter 37 of the bead.

To compensate for any decreased holding force resulting from the partialhooking of the intermediate skirt sections 28 with the bead 15 and toinsure that the segment of the rim 21 encircled by the arcs b willremain firmly sealed against the lip 14 in spite of the upwardlydirected force exerted by the compressed sealing compound 24, the deepskirt section 29 along the arc of the tab 17 is hooked fully around thehead to the same extent as the longer deep skirt 27 thereby increasingthe holding force afforded by the intermediate sections 28. Herein, thetab skirt section 29 is disposed at the periphery of the rim 21 oppositethe deep skirt 27 and extends circumferentially between the adjacentends 38 of the intermediate sections 28 through an arc (FIG. 14) ofabout thirty degrees. As shown most clearly in FIGS. and 12, the lowerportion 40 of the tab skirt section 29 extends below the free edgeportions 36 of the intermediate sections 28 and is hooked around thebead and across the full radial width of the shoulder 32 a substantialdistance below the maximum diameter 37 of the bead. With the tab skirtsection 29 thus fully interlocking with the bead 15 between thepartially hooked intermediate sections 28, the latter may be shortenedand adapted to coact in a unique way with the score lines 19 infacilitating removal of the cover while maintaining adequate holdingforce between the jar and the segments b and c of the cover.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 12, the tab 17 is an extension of the tab skirtsection 29 and extends circumferentially around the full arc thereof.The upper end of the tab is integral with the lower hooked portion 40 ofthe tab skirt section 29 while the remainder of the tab flaresdownwardly and away from the body 13 of the jar 11 and terminates in alower free end portion 42 which preferably is curled outwardly, upwardlyand then inwardly to facilitate firm gripping between the users thumband forefinger.

I have discovered that by properly spacing the score lines 19 angularlyaround the cover and away from the tab 17, the metal at the junctions 38(FIG. 14) of the skirt sections 28 and the tab will remain unbroken asthe tab is bent outwardly away from the jar to release the deep skirtsection 29 from the head 15 and then pulled upwardly with a force ofsufficient magnitude to force upward tearing of the metal along thescore lines 19 as shown in FIGS. 8 to 11. Herein, the score lines extendupwardly from the free edges 36 of the intermediate skirt sections 28 toa point just short of the rim 21 of the cover and reduce the metal ofthe intermediate sections to about one half its original thickness asillustrated in FIGS. 4 and 7. Preferably, the lines are spaced angularlya short distance, about fifteen degrees in the present instance, awayfrom the junctions 35 of the intermediate sections 28 and the ends ofthe deep section 27. With the score lines thus positioned, thestretching of the metal of the cover at these junctions occurring duringformation and seaming of the cover does not result in stresses whichwould cause the score lines to tear prematurely and thus destroy thehermetic seal.

To release and remove the cover 10 described above after the latter hasbeen seamed onto the jar 11, the curled end 42 of the tab 17 is firstgripped between the users thumb and forefinger and is swung upwardly andoutwardly to a substantially horizontal position as shown in FIG. 8 tofacilitate firm gripping of the tab. As the outward and upward pull iscontinued, the lower hooked portion 40 of the tab skirt section 29 ispulled out from beneath the shoulder 32 and then, the adjacent portionis cammed upwardly and outwardly by the shoulder (see FIG. 9) therebycausing the intermediate sections 28 to be placed in circumferentialtension as a result of which the metal is broken first at the lower endsof the score lines as shown in FIG. 9 after which the upward tearingcontinues as shown in FIG. 10. As an incident to this tearing upwardlyinto the sealing area, the vacuum within the jar 11 is released and theindicating button 25 pops upwardly. At the same time, the intermediateskirt sections 28 expand radially and circumferentially because of thetorn lines 19 thus enabling the lower hooked portion 40 of the tab skirtsection 29 to slip upwardly around the maximum diameter 37 of the head15.

Continued upward pulling of the tab 17 after the hooked portion 40thereof has been released from the bead causes upward bending of thecover segment 43 (as shown in FIG. 10) away from the bead and along agenerally chordal line 48 (FIGS. 13 and 14) extending across the toppanel 20 and intersecting the upper ends of the tear lines 19 adjacentthe rim 21. With the cover segment 43 thus hinged away and released fromthe bead, further pulling of the tab 17 results in the upward forcebeing applied to the cover along the chordal line 48 so that the shortportions of the intermediate skirt sections 28 disposed between thescore lines 19 and the skirt ends 35 thus are cammed outwardly andreleased from the head. This camming action, as illustrated in FIG. 11,then progresses circumferentially around the deep skirt 27 until about athird of the deep skirt has been released. Thereafter, the cover may belifted off of the jar easily.

Owing to the resiliency of the skirt sections 27, 28 and 29, theircross-sectional shapes are substantially preserved during removal of thecover 10 in the manner described above even though a cover is bentsomewhat as shown in FIGS. 10 and 13. As a result, the jar 11 may bereclosed simply by replacing the cover with the deep skirt section 27hooked around the bead 15 and then pressing the bent segment 43downwardly against the jar lip 14. The intermediate skirt sections 28and the tab section 29 thus telescope downwardly over the bead and thelower hooked portion 40 of the tab section 29 snaps in and under theshoulder 32 not only to prevent the top segment 43 from flexing upwardlybut also to draw the deep skirt section 27 into relatively tightengagement with the bead 15. The two deep skirt sections 27 and 29 thuscoact to hold the cover on the jar even though the two intermediatesections 28 engage the bead relatively loosely due to their expansioncaused by the torn score lines 19.

In some instances, it is desirable to form a second set of score lines50 (FIGS. 2 and 8) in the intermediate skirt sections 28 between thescore lines 19 and the tab 17 to insure release of the cover 10 in casethe score lines 19 fail to tear properly or in case the intermediateskirt sections 28 are crimped abnormally tightly around the bead duringthe seaming operation. Herein, the additional score lines 50 are locatedabout midway between the score lines 19 and the ends 38 of theintermediate sections 28. In this position and if the score lines 19fail to tear or if the skirt sections 28 fail to release, the scorelines 50 also will tear upwardly to allow the skirt sections 28 toexpand still further thus enabling the lower hooked portion 40 of thetab skirt section 29 to be pulled upwardly past the major diameter 37 ofthe bead 15.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the initially smooth andunbroken skirts 27, 28 and 29 provide an air-tight seal around the bead15 of the jar 11 and, at the same time, the advantageously located scorelines 19 coact with the shortened intermediate sections 28 to providefor easy removal of the cover in spite of the circumferential continuityof the skirts. The fully hooked tab skirt section 29 provides thenecessary hold-down force at the edge of the cover opposite the deepskirt 27 thus compensating for the reduced force provided by theshallower skirt sections 28. At the same time, the increased hold-downforce by the tab portion 40 is easily releasable by virtue of the shortarcuate length of the tab.

I claim as my invention:

1. A container having, in combination, a cylindrical tubular body havingan out-turned annular lip bead extending around its open end anddefining a downwardly rounded peripheral surface terminating in adownward and axially facing shoulder; a cover of relatively thin andresilient sheet metal having a generally flat top and having an integralcontinuous skirt depending from the periphery of the top and telescopeddown over said head; said skirt including a first arcuate sectionextending approximately half way around said bead, a second arcuatesection disposed at the periphery of said top opposite said first skirtsection and centered relative thereto and extending around a shortcircumferential arc of said bead, and two intermediate arcuate sectionsof lesser arcuate length than said first section but of greater arcuatelength than said second section each extending angularly betweenadjacent ends of said first and second sections; said first skirtsection having a lower free edge portion hooked fully around said headand securely interlocked with and under said shoulder to hold said coverfirmly on said body, said intermediate skirt sections each extendingonly partially across said shoulder and thus being hooked only partiallyaround said bead, and said second skirt section having a lower portionhooked around and fully interlocked with said head below the free edgeportions of said intermediate sections and substantially across the fullwidth of said shoulder; a pull tab integral at its upper end with andconstituting an extension of said second skirt section over the full arcthereof, said tab extending downwardly and outwardly from said bead topresent a free end portion adapted for manual grasping whereby thehooked portion of said second skirt section is earnmed outwardly andupwardly by said shoulder in response to an outwardly and upwardlydirected pull manually exerted on said free end portion; and a pair ofupright score lines angularly spaced in opposite directions from saidtab and each formed between the ends of one of said intermediatesections, said intermediate sections along said lines being sufficientlythin to cause upward tearing along the lines as an incident to saidcamming and said outward and upward pull, and said score lines beingangularly spaced from said tab sufficiently far to induce, after tearingof said lines and during continuance of said pull, upward bending awayfrom said bead of a segment of said top along a generally chordal linesubstantially intersecting the ends of the tears and substantiallylonger than the arcuate length of said tab and said second skirtsection.

2. A container as defined in claim 1 in which the arcuate distancebetween each score line and the adjacent side of the tab is greater thanthe arcuate distance between said score line and the adjacent end ofsaid first section.

3. A container as defined in claim 1 in which the arcuate distancebetween each score line and the adjacent side of the tab is at leastthree times greater than the arcuate distance between said score lineand the adjacent end of said first skirt section.

4. A container as defined in claim 1 further including a second pair ofscore lines each formed in one of said intermediate skirt sectionsbetween said first score line and the adjacent side of said tab.

5. A container having, in combination, a cylindrical tubular body havinga downwardly rounded lip bead extending around its open end, a cover ofrelatively thin and resilient sheet metal having a generally fiat topand having an integral skirt depending from the periphery of the top andtelescoped down over said bead; said skirt including a first arcuatesection extending circumferentially around a relatively long arc of saidhead, a second arcuate section disposed at the periphery of said topopposite said first section and extending around a shorter arc of saidbead, and two intermediate arcuate section of lesser arcuate length thansaid first section but of greater arcuate length than said secondsection each extending angularly between adjacent ends of said first andsecond sections; said first skirt section having a lower free edgeportion hooked fully around said bead to hold said cover firmly on saidbody, said intermediate skirt sections each being hooked only partiallyaround said head and having free edge portions offset upwardly from andspaced above the plane of the free edge portion of said first skirtsection, and said section skirt section having a lower portion hookedaround said head below the free edge portions of said intermediatesections; a pull tab integral at its upper end with and constituting anextension of said second skirt section, said tab extend ing downwardlyand outwardly from said bead to present a free end portion adapted formanual grasping; and a pair of upright score lines angularly spaced inopposite directions from said tab and each formed between the ends ofone of said intermediate sections with the angular distance between eachscore line and the adjacent side of the tab being at least as great asthe arcuate length of said second skirt section.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,163,310 12/1964 Blakslee 215463,200,982 8/1965 Cormier 215- 46 DONALD F. NORTON, Primary Examiner,

5. A CONTAINER HAVING, IN COMBINATION, A CYLINDRICAL TUBULAR BODY HAVINGA DOWNWARDLY REOUNDED LIP BEAD EXTENDING AROUND ITS OPEN END, A COVER OFRELATIVELY THIN AND RESILIENT SHEET METAL HAVING A GENERALLY FLAT TOPAND HAVING AN INTEGRAL SKIRT DEPENDING FROM THE PERIPHERY OF THE TOP ANDTELESCOPED DOWN OVER SAID BEAD; SAID SKIRT INCLUDING A FIRST ARCUATESECTION EXTENDING CIRCUMFERENTIALLY AROUND A RELATIVELY LONG ARC OF SAIDBEAD, A SECOND ARCUATE SECTION DISPOSED AT THE PERIPHERY OF SAID TOPOPPOSITE SAID FIRST SECTION AND EXTENDING AROUND A SHORTER ARC OF SAIDBEAD, AND TWO INTERMEDIATE ARCUATE SECTION OF LESER ARCUATE LENGTH THANSAID FIRST SECTION BUT OF GREATER ARCUATE LENGTH THAN SAID SECONDSECTION EACH EXTENDING ANGULARLY BETWEEN ADJACENT ENDS OF SAID FIRST ANDSECOND SECTIONS; SAID FIRST SKIRT SECTION HAVING A LOWER FREE EDGEPORTION HOOKED FULLY AROUND SAID BEAD TO HOLD SAID COVER FIRMLY ON SAIDBODY, SAID INTERMEDIATE SKIRT SECTIONS EACH BEING HOOKED ONLY PARTIALLYAROUND SAID HEAD AND HAVING FREE EDGE PORTIONS OFFSET UPWARDLY FROM ANDSPACED ABOVE THE PLANE OF THE FREE EDGE PORTION OF SAID FIRST SKIRTSECTION, AND SAID SECTION SKIRT SECTION HAVING A LOWER PORTION HOOKEDAROUND SAID BEAD BELOW THE FREE EDGE PORTIONS OF SAID INTERMEDIATESECTIONS; A PULL TAB INTEGRAL AT ITS UPPER END WITH AND CONSTITUTING ANEXTENSION OF SAID SECOND SKIRT SECTION, SAID TAB EXTENDING DOWNWARDLYAND OUTWARDLY FROM SAID BEAD TO PRESENT A FREE END PORTION ADAPTED FORMANUAL GRASPING; AND A PAIR OF UPRIGHT SCORE LINES ANGULARLY SPACED INOPPOSITE DIRECTIONS FROM SAID TAB AND EACH FORMED BETWEEN THE ENDS OFONE OF SAID INTERMEDIATE SECTIONS WITH THE ANGULAR DISTANCE BETWEEN EACHSCORE LINE AND THE ADJACENT SIDE OF THE TAB BEING AT LEAST AS GREAT ASTHE ARCUATE LENGTH OF SAID SECOND SKIRT SECTION.